What’s “hot” in home interiors? Plenty of designers are offering up their predictions, and here’s one outlook from Neil Kelly Co., a remodeling firm based in Portland, Ore.

Embellished showers: Showers are becoming more popular than tubs, and one feature growing in popularity is the curb-less shower.

Stand-alone bath tubs: For those home owners who still desire a bathtub, the free-standing tub is growing in demand. It takes up less space and also serves as a structural element to dress up a room.

U-sockets: These wall plugs have two built-in USB ports to power up devices, such as iPhones, digital cameras, tablets, and more. U-sockets also have a smart sensor that allows it to automatically shut off when the device is fully charged.

Seeing blue: Bright colors are “in,” particularly cobalt blue. Expect to see it more in the new year, even in the kitchen.

More modest decor: The industrial modern decor look was big in 2013, but Neil Kelly Co. designers expect that style to be more “relaxed, classic, and modest” in 2014. Stone, metal, and wood will continue to be popular, but the designers expect that rounded designs with earth shades and raw metal finishes to become more prevalent in interiors in 2014.

More multigenerational features: More multigenerational features will be incorporated homes to help better accommodate more people living under one roof, such as aging parents and boomerang kids. For example, features like wall mounted sinks for wheelchairs, walk-in bathtubs, and motion sensing faucets are expected to grow in demand.

Eco-friendly cabinets: Earth-friendly cabinets that are chemical-free and do not have added formaldehyde and non-toxic glues, binders, and finishes will likely increase in popularity.

Laundry rooms are an important part of the house for home buyers, but this space can often get overlooked when it comes to staging. After all, how much can you do to spruce up a washer & dryer, particularly if the laundry room is only a small room or even inside a closet?

But regardless of how much space your listing has, you’d be amazed at what a little staging can do to make buyers consider the laundry room a more inviting space and not just a dreaded space for chores.

A blog post by Laurie Turk with TipJunkie.com offers up several ideas of how to make the laundry room a more inviting space. Here are a few of her ideas:

Add storage: There are plenty of options, from cabinets, shelves, hanging rods, baskets, to drawers under the washer and dryer. Storage can be an important part of making a laundry room more functional and less cluttered. Home owners will want a place to tuck away all of those laundry supplies and a the space that leaves an impression as clean as the clothes coming out of the washer and dryer.

Create a folding station: Find a place for a countertop, such as over cabinets or even a countertop over the washer and dryer. If the room is large enough, you could even do a table or folding station island in the middle. If it’s smaller, a small table may suffice. But have an area devoted to folding clothes or at least big enough to store a laundry basket, besides the floor.

Enhance with color: Warm the laundry room up with a comforting color on the walls, such as a soft blue. Or, add a colorful rug or even a fun print – such as in damask — to an ironing board cover. If your listing’s laundry room is in a closet, add shelves above the washer and dryer and use wallpaper behind the shelves to dress it up, Turk suggests.

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

For local bird watchers, this has been one of the best winters ever for spotting the snowy owl.

Shirley Lally, a volunteer at the refuge, told Newport Patch the birds, usually native to the Arctic region, have been moving south because the food supply in the Arctic region is down.  Other common names for the owl are the Arctic Owl, Great White Owl or Harfang. Although the bird’s native home is the circumpolar region, it is considered to be a nomadic species when fluctuations in its food source population force it relocate.

Lally said that despite the seaside location of the sightings, the bird does not feed from sea.  “They don’t dive for fish, they are not sea-birds,” said Lally. “They eat rodents and small animals. They are moving south, looking for food.”

On Thursday, Jan 9, the Born to be Wild Nature Center set free a snowy owl that was found injured at Quonset Point last month. On Sunday, it released another snowy owl back into the wild.  By mid March, the owl should make her way North and arrive back in the Artic in time for summer, according to the Born to be Wild Facebook page.

But the question remains, how can you spot this elusive owl around Newport, RI?  “Look around in the trees and ponds and in open areas near the ocean and look for anything out of the ordinary,” said Middletown resident Stephen P. Ford who frequently captures the owl on camera.

How can you decide what to keep and what to toss when you move to a smaller space? Whittling down a lifetime’s worth of belongings for a move into a smaller home can be a difficult and emotional task. How can you decide what to keep and what to toss? Here are some things you can do to make the process easier:

Get an early startIf you wait until you’ve signed a contract on your new home, you’ll end up getting overwhelmed and tossing everything into boxes to take with you. So start going through your belongings as soon as you decide to move.

Work in concentric circlesStart in the rooms farthest from the heart of the home, such as the attic, basement, and storage rooms. That’s where there are more items that are simply being stored rather than used. Then move into the bedrooms, family room, and kitchen. Pack as you go through these rooms, and make separate piles of items you plan to sell, donate, and give to friends or relatives. Then get those items out of your home right away, so you won’t change your mind.

Involve your familyItems hold different meanings for various family members. You don’t want to save and store that box of toys from your daughter’s childhood only to find out later she doesn’t want them. You also don’t want to toss your son’s old baseball gear if it holds great sentimental value to him.

Ask yourself questionsIf you’re unsure about whether to keep an item, ask yourself when was the last time you used it, how often you use it, what purpose it serves, what shape it is in, etc.

Envision your new homeDetermine which pieces of furniture and other large items will fit in the new space, then sell or give away what you won’t have room for. Storing these large items in a monthly storage facility is costly. Items that were custom-made or specially purchased for your old space also may not transition well to your new place.

Determine the costWeigh the price you can get for selling an item against the cost of moving it. It may be better to buy something more suited to your new home with the money earned from a sale.

Consider contextIf you’re selling everything else a particular item fits in with, you might want to let it go. For example, if you’re saying goodbye to the couch, it might be time to part with the matching love seat.

Be kind to yourselfYou don’t have to get rid of everything you hold dear. If you’re really attached to an item and it would break your heart to let it go, keep it!

Sources: The Wall Street Journal

Many homeowners are waiting until the Spring ‘buying season’ to list their homes for sale. Here are five reasons why that might not make sense this year:

1.) Demand Is High
Homes are selling at a pace not seen since 2007. The most recent Existing Home Sales Report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed that annual sales in 2012 increased 9.2% over 2011. There are buyers out there right now and they are serious about purchasing.

2.) Supply Is Low
The monthly supply of houses for sale is at its lowest point (4.4 months) since May of 2005. The current month’s supply is down 21.6% from the same time last year. Historically, inventory increases dramatically in the spring. Selling now when demand is high and supply is low may garner you your best price. Read more →

Glenda Luck of Block Island has been awarded the 2013 Fellowship in Music Composition by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts RISCA. Once a year RISCA awards the fellowship to one recipient in the state.

RISCA fellowships are highly competitive. A “blind review” process is employed to protect the anonymity of the applicant and to guarantee assessment purely on the basis of artistic merit. A panel consisting of one in-state member, one out-of-state member and a third regional (not to exclude Rhode Island) member chosen for their involvement, mastery, or accomplishments in a particular arts discipline reviews each applicant’s materials.

Luck submitted material from her eclectic, contemporary folk project, “Manisses, A People and a Place,” which is slated for a spring 2013 release. This record is inspired by Block Island and the history of the island’s indigenous people. Simultaneously, Luck has been recording the album, “Little Red Lipstick,” slated for a 2013 summer release. (She submitted one song from this album as well.)  Read more →